Friendly defeat as Town still a ‘work in progress’

The opening friendly fixture of the new season for Sleaford Town took place at Eslaforde Park on Thursday with the visit of Eastern Counties side Wisbech.

The result was a 2-0 win for the visitors who proved to be a very useful outfit indeed. The difference between the finances of the two clubs is a mile apart, with Wisbech having a weekly budget for players’ wages that rivals those of the very top clubs in Town’s UCL Premier Division.

Town boss Glen Maddison was reasonably happy with the effort of his new charges, saying: “Overall, it was a good workout. We sent out virtually two different teams each side of the interval.

“In the first half we seemed almost scared of the opposition, who were stronger and played the ball about very well indeed. Both goals came in the first half, then after the break it was a different story and we did compete much better.”

Maddison added: “I was particularly impressed with 18 year old Harry Millard (formerly with Ruston Sports) in midfield, whilst striker Tom Sargeant caused a few problems.

“However, we did not give the front men enough to work with and therefore created very little.”

Assistant manager Jamie Shaw summed it up rather succinctly by saying: “Let’s call it ‘work in progress’. It was better after the break and there was enough to show that quite a number of players will not be out of their depth in the UCL.”